Forty ‘miraculously’ preserved, consecrated hosts have been discovered in a church that was destroyed by a large earthquake in central Italy in 2016.

The hosts, recovered from a tabernacle recently retrieved from the ruins of the parish church of Arquata del Tronto, have no bacteria or mold, as usually happens to hosts after a few weeks, according to the Italian bishops’ newspaper Avvenire.

The tabernacle, which since the earthquake had been kept in storage along with other artifacts and was recently returned to the diocese, contained an upturned but unopened ciborium.

Inside the ciborium were 40 hosts whose color, shape and scent were unchanged. Even though the quake took place nearly a year and a half ago, the hosts “seemed to have been made yesterday,” Avvenire reported Feb. 21.

The local bishop, Mons. Giovanni D'Ercole of Ascoli Piceno, was cautious, saying “faith requires prudence,” but added that such a discovery needs “no words.”

“It is a sign of hope for everyone,” he added. “Confronted with a fact like this, one has to surely remain silent. It simply touches and strengthens faith in Jesus who remains alive to console the earthquake-stricken population of Arquata.”

The 6.6 magnitude earthquake that hit the region on Oct. 30 caused immense damage to Arquata del Tronto and the surrounding area. The basilica in Norcia, the native town of St. Benedict and home to the famous Benedictine Monks of Norcia, was almost totally destroyed. It followed a similarly powerful quake in the region on Aug. 24 of that year which killed almost 300 people.

Don Angelo Ciancotti, a priest in nearby Ascoli who helped make the discovery, said finding the hosts was “a great joy” and gives a “message for the whole community.”

“Yes, for me it is a miracle,” he told the Italian daily Il Resto del Carlino. “Obviously, those who have no faith aren’t able to believe in anything, but never has there been any tampering. The Lord has done this all by Himself.”

Don Ciancotti, who has close family ties to Arquata, knew every missing person in the rubble and all the streets in the region. So together with some residents he sought to recover all the artifacts that could be saved.

He carried out some research to see where objects had been recovered, including those originating from the church — Santa Maria Assunta in Arquata. Later, he learned that the church’s treasures had been stored in a warehouse, so he retrieved them, cleaned them up, and put them in the sacristy of the cathedral in Ascoli.

Seeing that the tabernacle was locked, he remembered he had another key for a draw in his office. “I said, ‘let's try’, and it opened on the first attempt,” he said. But the biggest surprise was to come: ”The ciborium was horizontal, but it hadn’t opened, and inside it the hosts were perfectly intact,” he said.

He said the wafers had been prepared by nuns at the convent of Sant'Onofrio. “I immediately asked them if they used preservatives and they told me: ‘No, just flour and water.’"

Don Ciancotti was the first to be sceptical. “I’m a cousin of [doubting] St. Thomas,” he joked, “and so I had several others witness to it.”

He said he believes the discovery is reminiscent of the Eucharistic miracle of Siena in 1730 when a ciborium with consecrated hosts was stolen but the exact number of hosts miraculously re-appeared in the offering box attached to a prie dieu.

The hosts, which were not consumed, did not deteriorate but remained fresh and even retained a pleasant scent.

The miraculous preservation is that they were not destroyed by the quake. The miracle is not that they did not have mold, etc.
And maybe that is what Mr. Pentin meant. God bless, C-Marie

Posted by J Williams on Monday, Feb, 26, 2018 11:28 PM (EDT):

I guess that I “don’t get it”.
I don’t understand the “big deal”...
It is the Body and Blood of Our Lord
Jesus Christ.

People act as though it is a miracle.
It is obvious that those were once hosts
consecrated by a Priest and are now the Body
and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Please, pardon my ignorance. I do not mean to belittle or
insult anyone, but it seems that IF this is the way that the
article presents, that only those who don’t fully and truly
believe that it is The Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ
would be amazed.

I guess that in a world full of fraud that it is somewhat understandable,
that the article might be “amazing”...if all is as it is presented to the
reader. But, if the article is as related, I am not the least surprised.
This is something entirely normal…obvious.

I do hope that the Priest was the one who accessed and handled the Ciborium
though!

Posted by Daisy neves on Saturday, Feb, 24, 2018 3:25 PM (EDT):

Thank you Jesus for this miracle..I believe with all my heart this article written by Edward Pentin. What else can I say…I love this article.

Posted by Mario de Guzman on Saturday, Feb, 24, 2018 6:49 AM (EDT):

It is noteworthy that the number of pieces of hosts correspond to biblical number of forty.

Posted by C-Marie on Friday, Feb, 23, 2018 4:05 PM (EDT):

No miracle involved other than their consecration. The consecrated hosts are Jesus’ Body just as the consecrated hosts are at your daily Mass. They are the same. God bless, C-Marie

Posted by Bea Zienkosky on Friday, Feb, 23, 2018 11:55 AM (EDT):

This is so wonderful.The picture of the Hosts show them as so pristine that yes , they look like they were just made. I have a question ,, what will they do with these miraculous Hosts? Will they be used and consumed at a special mass , or will they be preserved for future presentation at a mass ? To be adored by the public as one of Our Lord’s miracles ? This is so amazing to me. It shouldn’t be though because there is no end to Jesus;s love, shown to us in miracles.

It is really sad for human to reject the love and mercy of Jesus through the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Confession. These two wonderful sacraments would have help billions of human to understand the purpose of their existence in this world and would have provided healing in their lives in this broken world, divided and seduced by Satan. Thanks and praise Jesus for his unconditional love and presence in the Eucharist. Thank you Jesus. I love you Jesus.

Posted by C-Marie on Thursday, Feb, 22, 2018 6:25 PM (EDT):

From this article…....“The hosts, recovered from a tabernacle recently retrieved from the ruins of the parish church of Arquata del Tronto, have no bacteria or mold, as usually happens to hosts after a few weeks, according to the Italian bishops’ newspaper Avvenire.”
In fact, The consecrated hosts have actually BECOME Christ’s Body. Of course they could not and would not deteriorate.
But this is a curious statement in this article which does not address what it is that the
local priest means when he says “they seemed to have been made the day before”? Is he referring to having been consecrated? or manufactured?
Would love for the author of this article…Edward Pentin…..to give to us that information as leaving the statement as is, gives one cause to wonder.
The site offered in this article is in Italian, But I used google translate, and here is the complete statement of the local priest:
“And within it the body of Christ after more than a year and a half intact, both in color and in form and smell. No bacterium or mold as it happens to all the hosts after a few weeks. And yet those, a year and a half away, seemed to have been made the day before” ....
So, are those hosts which the local priest refers to that usually mold, are they consecrated? They Could not be .
So is the Italian priest saying That Jesus’ Body could mold?? Does he understand transubstantiation? Please Mr. Pentin, a clarification. Thank you in advance.
God bless, C-Marie

The Article says that the Hosts were in the Ciborium with the cover on it. Who would expect anything else, other than that they WOULD be preserved—-in the Ciborium!?! THE GREATEST MIRACLE IS that JESUS IS IN THE CONSECRATED HOST once the priest pronounces the words of Consecration! THAT is THE Miracle of all miracles!—-What I wonder about is HOW the priest can stand there at the altar and pronounce the Words: “This is My Body….” and “This is the cup of MY BLOOD….” without collapsing over WHAT IS HAPPENING at THAT MOMENT…...!

My first thoughts on reading this is Jesus’ words “I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS”. Speaking from the monstrance, He said to St. Faustina: “Here I am the King of Mercy” - and mercy is a loving response to misery. So we are to go to him with our miseries for his merciful resolution. A Call to on-going Conversion and Trust.

Posted by Rita on Thursday, Feb, 22, 2018 1:36 PM (EDT):

God is all powerful…....Nothing is beyond Him…....
lines88

Posted by TomT on Thursday, Feb, 22, 2018 1:23 PM (EDT):

Janet, very spiritual observation. This is a good sign in the difficult days of our Church and substantially increases our awareness of who the real rock and foundation of our Church is, that is to say the “stone rejected by the builders has become the corner stone”, “and it is marvelous in our eyes” Ps. 118:22-23.

Posted by Lamb's Servant on Thursday, Feb, 22, 2018 12:46 PM (EDT):

Awesome!! What an awesome gift the Eucharist is!! What an awesome God we serve!!

Posted by Elizabeth on Thursday, Feb, 22, 2018 12:34 PM (EDT):

We are all called back to the bread of life. So many mysteries , miracles. It leads our faith into a stronger perspective that only Our Father reveals things as this to believe continuously in His life.

Posted by Janet on Thursday, Feb, 22, 2018 10:53 AM (EDT):

40 Hosts for the 40 Days of Lent.

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Edward Pentin began reporting on the Pope and the Vatican with Vatican Radio before moving on to become the Rome correspondent for the National Catholic Register. He has also reported on the Holy See and the Catholic Church for a number of other publications including Newsweek, Newsmax,Zenit, The Catholic Herald, and The Holy Land Review, a Franciscan publication specializing in the Church and the Middle East. Edward is the author of “The Rigging of a Vatican Synod? An Investigation into Alleged Manipulation at the Extraordinary Synod on the Family”, published by Ignatius Press. Follow him on Twitter @edwardpentin